Pittsburgh's Greatest Sports Hero

Johnny Unitas. Granted didn’t play for a Burgh claim but born on Mt Washington played in Bloomfield then cut by the Steelers. He deserves a mention.

Connie Hawkins. Pgh Rens then the Pgh Pipers.

uh, ... Hello! ... What about the lovvys?!

Peggy Michael. ... Tennis doubles partner of Evonne Goolagong.
ya know... Evonne was a TOP Aussie Ladies Champ.
And "Pittsburgher" for awhile... And Pittsburgh Champion!
(and NO, she's NOT me Mum)

#### Salty

Johnny Unitas. Granted didn’t play for a Burgh claim but born on Mt Washington played in Bloomfield then cut by the Steelers. He deserves a mention. Originally Posted by flows-with-water

My dad was his fullback with the Bloomfield Rams. He played there to keep sharp. Shula grabbed him and the rest is history. I believe Unitas grew up in Brookline and went to St Justin’s in Mt Washington. After the Steelers cut him, he didn’t come back to the Burg much. Like Joe Montana.

None of them are my hero’s but the one guy for me that combined unbelievable athletic ability with what appears to be a first class guy is Troy Polumala.

Dick Groat may have been the best all around athlete Pittsburgh has produced. MVP in MLB. Played in the NBA. Held Dukes BB scoring record for 40yrs. He was a scratch golfer.

Rodger Kingdom was pretty good. And a good guy.

Billy Conn, Fritzie Zivic and Harry Greb. All champion boxers from da Burg. Micheal Moorer was too. Not as great as the others.

Stan “the man” Musial was from Donora. By all accounts a great guy. Every bit as good as Clemente. In different ways.

Ralph Kiner was great. He played for the woeful Pirates in the 50’s. He would always pay the tab for his teammates when they went out on the town. The fans would stay to his last at bat. Waiting for another HR. He asked Branch Rickey for a raise and Rickey responded, “we can finish last without you”. And traded him. One of the most beloved people in MLB history.

Chuck Cooper, played BB at Duquesne and the first black to be drafted in the NBA.


https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-fam...-chuck-cooper/

Honus Wagner, born in Carnegie. His HoF is there. One of the greatest players in MLB history. A member of MLBs first HoF class. The Flying Dutchman. What took me so long to get to him!!!


https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-fam...ions/1936-1939

Candy Young of Beaver Falls. Set a world record in the 60 yard indoor hurdles at the age of 16. Other track accolades continued

Tony Dorsett. Still the best college football player I watched live on the field.

Rooster Fleming. One of the toughest guys from Pittsburgh. I played for Rooster for a year. A unique guy.


https://triblive.com/sports/david-ro...f-high-school/

Rooster was the pure definition of a “Pittsburgh Guy”.

https://www.post-gazette.com/columni...gene0808p1.asp

A gone by era